Of Nappies and Milk
by TheKittyRin
Summary: Sirius Black was never much of a baby guy. Yet one night, he is asked to baby-sit little Harry. This shall be a tedious night, but it is a task that he, Greatest Godfather ever to live, must achieve in order to undertake the long road to perfection.
1. The First Act

**Full Summary:** Sirius Black was never much of a baby kind of guy. But what happens when one fine night, he is asked to baby-sit little Harry? Not realising how long this night is going to be, he accepts. It is a task that he, Greatest Godfather ever to live, must achieve in order to undertake the long and restless road to perfection.

**Rated:** T for swearing.

**Pairings:** Slight Lily/James undertones.

**Genre:** Friendship/Humor.

**Author's Note:** Dear reader! Welcome to this story! I have really enjoyed writing this, and I hope that you will feel the same about it! I think there aren't nearly enough baby Harry stories involving Sirius, and I am glad to be able to contribute to the community! Now, without further or due, please enjoy the reading and please be sure to leave a candid review, it is always very helpful for me!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

Thanks to icedpandacookies for BETA reading this; revisions made by me in 2014.

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**:: 1 ::**

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_October 29th 1981, 20h 31_

Sirius Black walked down the dark alley, one of his hands in his pocket as the other tightened his scarf around him in hope of getting a bit of warmth. He cursed the cold weather, which was colder than usually for your typical October climate; he cursed the Death Eaters for having brought such a dark and miserable atmosphere to the Wizarding World; he cursed Voldemort for having made Lily and James hide. He cursed them all.

His eyes scanned the street, making sure no one was following him. Not one Muggle was on the street; this mostly due to the constant vigilance those Muggles had started to take as their government warned them of the sudden rise in local danger, especially during the night. Even they weren't as foolish as to have not noticed that lingering aura the Death Eaters had brought with their blasted Dark Magic.

Sirius had always considered himself to be an easy-going individual, never really caring for rules. In fact, most of his school time was spent breaking the rules. But he wasn't a murderer, or thief and it sickened him that anyone would ever try to believe that they had the right to decide what to do with someone's life. That was excessive arrogance, hubris.

Still, he supposed there was a reason why they called themselves _Death Eaters_.

His eyes continued to travel around the street. When he was finally satisfied that nobody was following him, he turned to a smaller alley, almost jogging to get a bit of warmth. Merlin, why was it so cold?

He reached a small, abandoned home and once again, he scrutinised his surroundings; another precaution to make sure nobody was following. Using his wand and casting a spell, he made sure that not one wizard was nearby, or Muggle, for that matter. Voldemort could be smart enough to use those 'underling' humans to find the location of the Potters. But then, when he was finally sure, he proceeded to tap a few rocks on the ground with his wand, and they began to move and make way for a typical, small house. He cleared his voice and opened the gate, a house invisible from outside now starting to appear.

He wasn't the Secret Keeper of the house. He thought that his little trick was genius. Nobody would ever suspect Peter Pettigrew as a Secret Keeper. However, he knew the location of the Potter's house because James and Lily had written it on a piece of paper for him. Thank God, because he wouldn't have been too content if he couldn't speak to his best friend anymore.

Him and James had been inseparable since they were small, and he had never thought that could change. Marrying Lily had slightly altered the dynamic of the relationship, but it had not changed either of them. During the rise of Voldemort, the three of them had still seen each other almost every day, working for the Order of the Phoenix together. But then, there had come something Sirius had not expected. _Harry_. James' and Lily's son. How could he have predicted that a son would have come in between him and his best friend? And worse, Voldemort had suddenly become aware of Harry's presence because of some kind of prophecy, meaning he was targeting the whole family.

There wasn't exactly resentment against Harry. He just felt very bitter about the situation, and he felt incredibly guilty about it. Harry was just a boy, after all. Worst, Harry's godfather was Sirius, which made his guilt worsen, because he wasn't meant to dislike Harry. He was the worst godfather probably.

Sighing, he marched heavily down the steps, getting closer to the door. He glanced at the thick, wooden door, suddenly hesitating. He hadn't talked to James and Lily for so long... and then there was the fact that he didn't know what to say in front of Harry. They had met one and another only a few times, and Sirius only remembered a whimpering, frail baby.

Then, the door swung open, revealing a familiar face grinning at him wickedly, and Sirius felt himself come back to life. He flashed a wide smile, and extended his arms to his old friend. James.

"Good evening Padfoot!" James tugged him into a tight hug, "How are things in the outside world?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, closing the door, "Come on Prongs, you aren't that left out. You make it seem like you've been imprisoned for life. You aren't in Azkaban just yet. And I'm fine, I suppose." He shrugged as he took off his coat and scarf.

"Maybe, but I sometimes feel this is a prison, where my every moves are only Dumbledore would inform us about the situation…" James sighed, tapping Sirius on the shoulder, "Merlin, you're ice cold!" Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend's obvious remark, and the fact that he clearly wasn't keeping up with the local weather.

He began to glance nervously at his friend. Strangely enough, he was wearing a tuxedo. Sirius frowned, about to ask him what this was but restrained when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Is that Sirius?" The light voice inquired, the footsteps getting louder and louder.

"The one and only!" Sirius quickly answered, smiling. He recognised that red, long hair and that smile, "Lily."

"Sirius," she nodded as she kissed him on the cheeks. Her face was radiant and happy, as usual, "I thought you wouldn't come, you know. You are thirty minutes late, but I suppose that is an achievement when it comes to you." She laughed, teasing him and Sirius just shrugged, knowing she would not be mad about something like that.

Lily, too, was looking elegant. She was wearing a dark, burgundy colored lipstick that matched her red dress that went cascading down her body, almost reaching the floor.

"Late? Please, I had things to do. I'm a busy man!" His tone was malicious and playful, and the couple nodded, their faces full of sarcasm, "Anyways, do you want that Order of the Phoenix top secret information, or do you wish to continue on ranting about how I am an idiotic git who can't come on time?" Sirius eyed her curiously, but she rolled her eyes so he took it as a sign of continuing, "Alright then. Firstly, we have apparently gained an inside spy within Voldemort's Death Eaters, though personally I can't really tell who it might be."

"Really?" Lily asked with big eyes, "That is very strange. I don't know any Death Eater who would willing to risk their lives to help us..." She let her voice trail off, her voice becoming weaker. Sirius and James eyed each other carefully, knowing the reason of the sudden change of tone. Snivellus aka Severus Snape may be a Death Eater, but he was still Lily's childhood best friend; something James had always been jealous of.

"I couldn't believe it when Dumbledore announced it, but I still don't know why he won't reveal who. I guess for protection and all... anyhow, that's about the only piece of good news I have. The rest are terrible things that occurred over this month... it's like Voldemort and his killer armies are becoming more in need of murder."

"Who died Sirius?" Lily questioned, her voice still frail.

"Several," Sirius said, his tone sorrowful, "Benjy Fenwick's body was found in the streets of London."

"Oh Merlin..." James gulped, his voice suddenly depressed. The Potters had been good friends with him, and his sudden murder made them all grieve for a minute or two, "And... tell me Sirius, did they find his body?"

It was known that Voldemort never left any traces of his murders, if he could, but always left hints for the Order of the Phoenix. Apparent signs, but nothing that could reveal something about him.

"Well, I suppose it can be defined as his body. We found pieces of his body..." Sirius grimaced with a disgusted look on his face, "Terrible story. But…" He was hesitant, "there's more."

"More?" The couple echoed in unison, already tears in his eyes.

"Uh-hu. Dorcas Meadowes, that poor girl, was apparently killed by Voldemort himself, and her whole family was savagely murdered by other Death Eaters." Sirius admitted.

It took few minutes for the information to sink in their brains, but when it did, Lily burst out in sobs. James hugged her tightly, tears in his eyes also. They had known Dorcas and her family well, and she was a strong wizard. Her beautiful, outgoing and loud children; her humorous husband and her obnoxious and stuck up grandmother. Different generations linked by love and the bond of family... destroyed in one single night.

Those monsters.

It took a few minutes for them to calm down, and Sirius felt strangely out of place. He wished he could give them the privacy they deserved, but Lily suddenly seemed to realise his embarrassment when she began to dry her tears quickly, slightly smudging her make up.

"Oh God..." Lily mumbled, her voice barely managing to say anything, "And... that's... it... r-ight?"

Sirius slowly nodded but continued, "Yes, that's it. There haven't been any more murders… although," he grimaced, thinking of another piece of news, "Apparently, my dear cousin Bellatrix Lestrange and her little gang of Death Eaters are tracking down Alice Longbottom and her family." He hissed, a pure feeling of hate and rage boiling against Bellatrix. James eyed him with a disapproving face, and Sirius understood it. He was going too fast and it was hurting Lily even more.

James frowned, "But... nothing has happened to them, right?"

"No, nothing." Sirius sighed, a mix of relief for the Longbottoms and sadness for all his friends that had been killed. Lily smiled sadly and she hugged James back, though she still maintained a doleful expression. Sirius awkwardly gazed around the room.

"Sirius, how have you been?" James asked.

"Me? Fine, like I said before. Kind of lonely without seeing you two as much as before..." Sirius gulped, "But it is for your own good."

The couple nodded in unison.

"Yes, Harry's safety is far more important than ours," Lily said with pure adoration in her tone for her son, "And Remus? Peter? How have they been?"

"Alright. It's almost full moon for Remus, so he's off hiding somewhere so as to not hurt anyone. I think I might join him to run in the woods a bit... And Peter, oh well, I don't know. He's been a bit distant, but apart from that, he seems to be doing fine."

"Maybe he got caught in a mouse trap, eh?" James cracked a laugh, and Sirius joined his roaring laughter soon enough. Lily glared at them ferociously, putting a finger on his lips. She still looked touched by the deaths, but the change in atmosphere was bringing back the warmth in her face.

"Sssh you two! You'll wake up Harry!" Lily said, and James immediately stopped laughing but Sirius continued, getting a reproachful look from both of them.

"What, can't a man laugh anymore?" Sirius asked a bit exasperated.

"You try to make Harry sleep. You'll see." James snickered. Lily bit her lower lip, trying to hide her smile as well. Sirius glanced at both of them, a devious smile on his face as he tried to understand the inside joke. He could not.

"What is so bloody funny?" He finally demanded. Then he looked at both of them. They were really on their best clothing, and this sudden change of conversation could only mean one thing, "Lily. James. Why are you wearing those clothes, pray tell me?"

"Oh, well, you see... Sirius," Lily began, hesitating on her choice of word, "Don't get mad. The real reason we called you here is that we've been anxious to see this opera..." Sirius glanced at her, suddenly not very anxious himself at all to hear the next bit of the sentence. He groaned, and Lily stopped, staring at him. James took over.

"Yes, and we thought... you know, you could make sure nothing happened to Harry." James swiftly said.

"You want me to BABY-SIT?" Sirius snapped, "No really Prongs... Me? Baby-sit?"

"Well yes, you are a grown adult Padfoot." James sighed, anticipating the outrage Sirius was about to make, "Please don't yell. Making Harry fall asleep is hell."

"And like hell I'll do it! Really Prongs, I would have thought you would have chosen someone with a little more sense of responsibly like... oh, I don't know! Moony or... even Wormtail would have been a more mature choice than me!" Sirius hissed, "Merlin James! I'm not a baby type of guy. Why do you think I've not settled with anyone? Because I'm not right for families and... freaking babies! I hate them!" This wasn't exactly true, but he was exaggerating just to make them understand.

And then, there was a loud cry. Lily stiffened and glared at Sirius, "Good job, you brainless prat. You really are a gormless muppet who doesn't shut up and listen when I say no shouting! Goodness... yes, Harry sweetie, Mum is coming!" Lily yelled, marching up the stairs, slightly fuming. James sighed.

"There you go, you made her mad. Lucky I scheduled the opera two hours early..."

"Prongs, I am not being your baby-sitter!" Sirius shouted, his black eyes glaring from the stairs where Lily had left to James.

"Padfoot, would you calm down? I clearly chose you because you're my best friend and Harry's godfather. Come on Padfoot, don't be an arse… Could you do this one favor for us? Me? Please?" James suddenly turned to his friend, a sad look on his face as his eyes glimmered. That poor, beaten up kitty face. Sirius rolled his eyes, frowning as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"Are you serious?" Sirius scoffed, "Are you really trying to get me with that face of yours?"

"No, you're Sirius." James smiled with an amused tone, "And bloody hell, if it takes that much to make you stay..."

"Oh alright then!" Sirius finally agreed, his grumpy mood very annoyed by the sudden attention that pushed him to say yes. Perhaps he had truly gone mad for even have said yes.

"Thank you Sirius, you're a real brother to me." James faked a sob as he hugged his friend and then he stared sombrely at his friend, "Hey… sorry the change of mood but all these murders got me thinking… do you think you suffer a great deal when you die?"

Sirius stared at his friend, a bit shocked by his sudden swing of mood. Of course, he was still thinking of his deceased friends, still grieving. As soon as Lily and James would have gone out, they would probably talk about it in detail.

"Dying? I dunno... but I wouldn't think so. You probably die as fast as lightning, and you don't feel much... but then again, I haven't personally died." He smiled softly.

A loud cry echoed through the house, and suddenly, Lily was marching down, her face fuming from anger as she held a crying baby in her arms.

"Thank you so much so much for your lovely voice, Sirius. Now, wether you want it or not, you are keeping Harry…"

"Lily dear, he already accepted..." He tugged Harry and her into a hug, "Let's all calm down now, shall we? Little Harry looks as exasperated as you." He remarked, a slight smile on his mouth as he tapped Lily and then Harry on the nose. Sirius cracked a smile a stared into the eyes of the baby.

Those god-damn green eyes that seemed to look through everything. That black hair that looked a lot like his father's, yet was more combed due to his mother's constant care for her son. His big, red cheeks that lifted whenever a smile was drawn on his face, and that little mouth of his that usually was smiling. Except of course, when in times like this, he used it to create a wave of never-ending sound. This was little Harry James Potter.

Sirius was never much a baby type of guy. He thought babies were annoying, to say the least. However, looking at Harry, he could see how babies could be considered cute.

Lily glanced at Sirius and gently caressed her son's head, kissing him lightly as she hummed a tune and tried to cheer him. James, who had let go of Lily, turned his attention to Sirius and cleared his voice.

"Right, Sirius... I left you some notes on what to do if Harry gets hungry, how to get him to sleep, change his nappies..." he started but got widely interrupted by Sirius.

"NAPPIES?" Sirius screeched but then realised how un-adult like this looked like. He was a man, a mature man. He could deal with this, "Right. Nappies, alright... well, thank you Prongs," he couldn't help but say this with a sarcastic tone.

James rolled his eyes at his immaturity and Lily seemed slightly aggravated at his behaviour. She shook her head and he noticed Harry had calmed down and was now staring at him with wide eyes and genuine curiosity.

"Pawoot?" Harry cooed, his two teeth forming a smile. Sirius stared at him, amused. The Marauders had been over at the Potter's house often in the past, and it seemed that Harry had memorised their names, more or less because there were still pronunciation problems. Harry brought his hands out, closing and opening his hands over and over again, a sign he wanted to go in Sirius' arms.

Lily gently gave her son to Sirius, waiting till the last moment to let go, afraid Sirius would drop him.

"Relax, Lily. I got him." Sirius affirmed as he tugged Harry tightly. Putting him at his height, he stared intently into his face. Harry began touching his face with his fragile, little hands. He pinched Sirius' nose, "Ouch! Merlin!"

James and Lily laughed, shaking their heads.

"You know Padfoot, if you hadn't just affirmed how much you detested babies, I would think you're actually a baby sort of guy." James noticed.

"And a great godfather." Lily added. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I am super, mega, awesome godfather. And I do not detest babies... I simply will never have my own." Sirius hissed.

"Right. So... you never want to get married and have children?" Lily asked.

"That's called commitment, and I, Sirius Orion Black, do not commit to anything!" Sirius announced, with a proud tone to it. Lily stared at him with pure disbelief, knowing exactly this wasn't something to be proud of. But James, being habituated to his friend's constant weirdness, didn't say anything.

"Alright, not that we have a problem with you or anything, but we actually have to get somewhere...Opera!" James smiled, as he grabbed his coat and began putting the usual...hat, scarf, gloves etc.

"Yes," Lily agreed as she too put her coat on, "We're off to see Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini. It's a Muggle opera…" Lily let her voice tail off as she zipped her coat, "Alright then. The notes are in the kitchen. You can find the milk powder on the table, just add some warm water to it... it needs to be around the human body's temperature. And...the nappies are upstairs under his bed. Goodnight Sirius," she hugged Sirius quickly and turned her attention to Harry, "Oh Harry!" She kissed him on the cheeks, leaving two red lip marks on Harry's cheeks, "Mummy loves you! Be a good boy with Sirius, and if he bothers you, just pinch his nose again!" She kissed him on his forehead, leaving another mark.

James waved goodbye and grabbed Lily by the waist, bringing her outside. Sirius closed the door shut, and sighed as he stared down at Harry. Harry smiled softly.

"Merlin, your mother left kiss marks everywhere." He sighed as he headed in the kitchen, putting Harry in his baby chair. He grabbed a napkin and began caressing Harry's cheek with it, trying to erase the lipstick. The lipstick began to smudge, "Goodness Harry. You look like a womanizer. Maybe this is a sign, you know? Maybe you'll be just like your dad and me. We were quite the ladies' men back in school." Sirius chuckled, "Well, James attracted a mob of women. But he was never really interested, it seemed, because he was always chasing your mother. Fortunately for me, though. He left _all_ the girls for me." Sirius cracked a smile.

Harry seemed fascinated by what Sirius was saying, as he looked at him with big eyes. But Sirius suspected that is was his husky voice that Harry liked, and not what he was saying.

"Anyhow, it looks like we're going to stay together for a while...are you hungry?" Sirius asked as he eyed the milk powder from afar. Finally, the lipstick seemed to be disappearing, thought Harry's face was considerably more red than usual.

"Fwood!" Harry laughed, clapping his hands together. Sirius shrugged and sighed as he opened the milk powder. Now… how did this work? Trying to decipher Lily's handwriting, he couldn't help but think that this was going to be a long, long night.

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_I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~ Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford._

TheKittyRin


	2. The Second Act

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for the amazing feedback, I really wasn't expecting this!

Thanks to icepandacookies for having BETA read this. Revision done in 2014.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

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**:: 2 ::**

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It had been five minutes since Lily and James had left, but it seemed that an entire life had been wasted, at least for Sirius Orion Black.

Sighing, he tried for the seventh time to mix the milk powder with water.

"Merlin! Why, oh, why did your stupid parents have to use Muggle baby milk powder? You have to use these... things to heat up the water!" Sirius yelled, exasperated as he slammed the spoon he had been holding into the sink. Harry blinked, watching from his chair as Sirius played with all the 'machines', which was actually a regular kettle, but you had to know how to use the oven, "This owen... oben... open? Whatever the blasted name of the thing is… it simply won't turn on! And Lily said on these little notes of hers not to use tap water... because it would cause you to be sick," He scrutinised the eligible writing that Lily seemed to have scribbled quickly before leaving, "Lily really has terrible handwriting."

He could imagine them. If they were to see him like this, they would say he was the worst parent a child could ever have, and that he was not done to become Harry's godfather.

'But I am!' Sirius thought, 'I am Godfather of the century!' He wasn't being modest, but it was his way of giving himself courage when faced with his fears. He loved Harry and normally that should suffice. But then again, he still felt bitter at Harry for taking away his happiness with James and Lily. So, did he really deserve to be Harry's godfather?

A sudden gush of paranoia came in Sirius' feelings and he began searching around frenetically for something. His eyes were wide, and he was gasping. Harry simply watched, his eyes following the tall man with black hair.

"I'm sure your parents would be smart enough to hide somewhere their brand new Wizard Camera 5000 that I bought them for their anniversary..." Sirius scrutinised the chicken. From cupboard to table, he looked everywhere. Literally. Finally, he decided that there wasn't any camera hidden anywhere.

Sighing for the ninth time, he continued to try make the oven work. But after five minutes of restless banging on the oven and massive concentration, he had to admit he might fail. Fail as a godfather, how _depressing_. If he couldn't perform such effortless tasks, how could he ever hope to succeed in anything?

'Now Sirius,' he thought, 'this is really not the best time to doubt yourself.'

Yet, he had to admit defeat as he leaned over the chair. Harry seemed to understand the sign as Sirius combed his hair with his hands, looking thoughtful; he began crying. _Oh bollocks._

"Waaa! Waaa!" Harry cried, pointing to his mouth, "Hwungy! Hwungy! Fwood!"

Sirius stared back, looking very gentle but inside was feeling pure annoyance, "No... Harry, don't cry! Please..."

He tried pinching his cheeks lightly, hoping it would make Harry giggle. But entertaining Harry was not an easy task, which he quickly learned when he began to make weird grimaces and faces he never thought would appear on his body.

Damn Lily and James if they _did_ have this camera hidden.

"Bwaaa! It's me... the big MONSTER! Where are you?" He hid his face with his hands, then surprising Harry with opening his hands, "Bwaa!" He did this gesture a few times till he noticed that Harry simply wasn't calming down. Why was it so hard to entertain a child that seemed so easily engrossed by Sirius' voice? After all, Sirius' grimaces were much more amusing than a unadorned voice.

Then something clicked in his brain and if this were a cartoon, a light bulb would have most definitely popped on top of his head. He didn't know how he knew that non important fact about cartoons, but still was not the moment to question this.

Getting an idea, he raced down the stairs; quickly entering what he thought would be James' and Lily's room. Going into it, he opened the drawer, looking for socks. Those socks had to entertain Harry. There were only dresses and shirts in this drawer. So he opened the shelves, looking for his quested treasure. Sure enough, there it was, behind all the other stuff.

So he grabbed the stuff, not really bothering to think of the consequences of his actions, and pulled them out, throwing them on the floor.

"Panties, underwear, bras... BRAS?" He yelped as he dramatically let go of the bras who fell on the floor, "Oh Merlin, I should not be touching this... oh Lily is going to be _furious_! Anyways, shirts and ah... I never knew Lily or James would wear that... not my business... they are going to murder me alive… well how else can you murder someone? Oh shut up your trap Sirius and just grab those damn socks!" He wanted to smack himself on the forehead at his stupidity for even talking aloud and grabbed two pairs of socks. They had to be of different colours. Only taking one from each pair, he marched down the steps to where Harry was siting. Still crying.

"Harry, it's me... Sirius! And guess what I have? Puppets!" He grinned as he held up the socks. Harry didn't seem to understand and just continued to cry. He quickly put on the socks and began closing his hands up and down, a gesture supposed to represent a big mouth talking. He sat on the floor, crouching to the floor so the socks would be at head level with Harry.

He cleared his voice and began deepening it and changing it, "Hello Harry Potter! I'm... James, your father. This is a story about how I became friends with the too amazing Sirius Black. Would you like to hear it?" The 'James' puppet asked. Harry shook his head, continuing his crying. Sirius gasped but continued.

"Once upon a time, I went on the Hogwarts train and met Padfoot. We began talking about Quidditch immediately." The 'James' puppet said, the green sock opening and closing. Sirius made sure to go slowly and he articulated every word he said.

A red sock suddenly stood next to 'James' and he began opening his mouth. Sirius used his usual voice.

"Yes, and I was amazing already back then. We decided to find a compartment together, and we entered one where there were only two people." The puppet which was Sirius said.

"Your mother and her greasy friend was in there. Lily and Snivellus. Let's just say that I began acting like a big fat jerk towards her; already madly in love with her after only two seconds of having spend time with her." 'James' continued. This didn't sound like James at all, but he hoped it would make Harry smile. He found it amusing, in fact, if James was here, he knew they would have both laughed like there was no tomorrow. But in fact, it had the opposite effect.

Harry wouldn't stop crying and the puppet show hadn't helped. His sobs became louder and it became impossible for Sirius to continue his little show. Sighing, he put the socks on the floor and got up. Staring at Harry, he tried again to make ridiculous grimaces. Yet nothing seemed to please Harry.

'Goodness, what the hell is wrong with this child,' he thought. He eyed Harry and met the green eyes, which were a little red from crying, 'Too much Lily in him.'

"You really are starving, aren't you?" Sirius was exasperated. He saw Harry just cry back, so he decided to try again to make that blasted machine work. The oven would simply not get started. Then, he noticed there were little letters on upper part of it. He grimaced, trying to read them. It was written gas.

"Gas, gas... let's try this then." He tried to push it, but it wouldn't go down. With a determined attitude, he continued to push it when accidentally, his finger slipped and it turned. Sirius stared. Turning... so this was how to do it! He tried to turn it again, but nothing apparent happened. At least not physically. But after few seconds, he noticed a smell, a disgusting smell, had come out where the fire was supposed to. So he pressed again, ant the same smell came out. He tried to remember his Muggle studies. Gas wasn't physically seen, "Damn it."

He was cursing this piece of technology. when an idea suddenly appeared in his head, "Yes! Harry, I've got it!" He span around and put his arms out in victory. He grinned happily. Harry stopped for a moment to cry, staring to see what Sirius was about to do. But when Sirius just stood there, his arms out and his stupid grin; Harry began crying again, "Okay, okay. All I need is fire, if I'm correct..."

He searched in his pockets for his wand and cleared his voice as he positioned it to the oven, where the gas was coming out. A smell was started to become distinguished all over the room, and Sirius doubted it was any good for Harry. He ought to hurry, "_Incendio_."

Flames came out of his wand like a stream, and the moment it reached the oven and thus the gas, there was a small explosion.

Sirius quickly stepped back as he put a protective arm on Harry and the other one on his face, ready to use the Auguamenti spell if needed. However, it seemed the fire slowly calmed down and only a small amount of fire was left, the fire that would be used to heat up the kettle. Sirius grinned happily. He began humming loudly his favorite tune from Wizards Rock.

There was a strange odour in the air, almost foul. A sort of burnt smell, reminding him of fried fish.

Suddenly, he noticed his hair was slightly burned from the fire. Groaning, he turned around at Harry, who was staring in awe. The boy blinked. He suddenly began laughing and clapping his hands together. Sirius stared at him with a blank expression on his face. This was… amusing him?

This child had a particular sense of humour.

Rolling his eyes, he turned around to put water in the kettle and put it on the fire. He would really hate it if there was a camera, because he would look completely undignified.

Knowing it was going to take some time to boil, he turned around to sit next to Harry.

"Food is going to be ready." Sirius sighed, as he relaxed in the chair.

"Fwood! Fwood! Fwood!" Harry giggled, laughing and he seemed as thrilled as before. He then turned his attention to Sirius, looking mesmerised, "Padwoo... woof! woof!"

Sirius turned his attention to Harry's eyes, which glimmered at him with pure adoration, "Woof? You want me to turn into a dog?" Harry didn't understand what he was saying, but he kept repeating woof so it was Sirius' turn to guess. He shrugged. Why not? Getting up, he quickly transformed into his dog animagus.

A black dog was now in the kitchen, looking curiously at Harry. Harry stopped saying woof and just stared, looking completely hypnotised by the dog. His little mouth was open and his eyes were in awe at the marvellous transformation. And then, he began laughing again. Sirius barked happily, his tail wagging in every direction.

"Doggy!" Harry smiled, patting the dog with a grin on his face, though his pats were a bit brutal. But what could you expect of a child if not of being a little violent? Sirius licked Harry's hand, and then heard a hiss. He turned around to see a cat looking revolted at him, its back bristling in a sign of provocation. _Uh-ho._

How could he have forgotten Lily and James possessed a cat? It was as black as night, and it had a mean look on its face as his yellow eyes glared viciously at Sirius. Sirius tried to bark few times, hoping it would scare the cat away. But it had quite the opposite effect. The cat began hissing menacingly. This was its territory, and it would not let the intruder get away.

Sirius took a step back, as he began to snarl furiously.

The cat pounced on him, just like a lion would on its prey. As fast as light, Sirius backed off and as he did, he violently banged himself against the fridge. There was a little moment where nothing happened, and then a loud noise echoed through the house. Sirius was hit by some glass, whining at the slight pain. He then realised there had been a sort of vase on top of the fridge and hitting it so hard had made the vase fall down.

The cat stared, its yellow eyes glaring coldly at Sirius. Sirius brushed the pieces of vase that were on him and barked loudly, imposing his big stature at the cat. He had had enough of the lousy nature of the cat.

The cat tried to scratch the dog once, its paws nearly clawing the dog's nose but he was quicker. He opened his mouth open wide and closed it violently, nearly biting the cat.

The cat spit menacingly but slowly backed off, finally admitting defeat to Sirius.

The dog scrutinised the cat until it was out of the room and sighed. He turned back into a human, realising Harry was staring at him with big eyes. He flushed slightly, "Don't tell your mother about this... I'm sure this vase mustn't been important." He gulped. At least, he hoped it wasn't important. He nearly yelped as he heard another hiss, though this time it was a much safer, less alarming hiss, simply the water saying it had begun to boil.

He poured some water into Harry's bottle and added some fresh water as well, so it wouldn't be too warm. Then he read what the instructions were saying, and conveniently added three tea spoons of baby powder. Hopefully this would do.

Not before making sure the temperature was right, he handed the bottle to Harry to see if he liked it. Harry blinked, putting his cheek next to the warmth and then putting it in his mouth himself, like a big boy. He seemed proud of that. And then, his eyes looked like they were melting, green becoming suddenly soft. He drank forever, but Sirius did not glance away once, nor blink. He was mesmerised by Harry's happy face as he drank. He seemed in heaven.

Without realising it, his heart melted too. He felt happy; happy to have helped the little in need. He just stared, smiling to himself and glad he had done a good deed.

He was the best godfather ever to live.

Harry looked enchanted, drinking and drinking. For the first time in his life, Sirius truly felt what it was like to be a father, to make a little one so happy. He wondered if this feeling was the same for every child, or was this simply because Harry looked alike with James? It didn't matter, because Sirius felt a part of something; something he hadn't felt for so long. He felt like... family.

The previous bitterness that he had felt previously was slowly evaporating, and he realised that there was much more to parenting. It was never about the joy a child could give you, but about how you could make the child happy. It was a selfless relationship; a sacrifice.

The child's eyes were ones of innocence, of pureness. They did not judge you, they simply existed. Sirius also liked how Harry's eyes always seemed to see him as a protector, a mentor.

He could sacrifice it all to protect Harry.

It was only ten minutes later that Harry dropped the bottle, noise echoing on the floor. Sirius blinked, his thoughts snapping like a bubble.

"Was it yummy?" Sirius asked, smiling as he took a hold of the bottle and looked into Harry's green eyes.

Harry giggled and clapped his hand, "Padwoo! Padwoo. Arry luve Padwoo."

Sirius looked puzzled, staring at the infant, "You love me?" Harry laughed, and Sirius thought he saw him nodding. He grinned, patting Harry and messing his hair up. A figure that looked exactly like James, just very young.

It was nice to see that, although his own person, Harry was still similar to James. He knew that he liked Harry because he resembled James, but he would have to discover Harry for him.

He snapped out of his thought, glancing back at the list that Lily had left. He happily grabbed a pen that was laying on the table and put a red check on the list.

Make a bottle of milk and make Harry drink it. [ V ]

Smiling to himself, he wondered what else the night was going to bring him. But whatever it might be, he would face it. After all, he _was_ only the best godfather in the world. He couldn't help but imagine how Lily and James would have gibed at that, saying he needed to be more modest. He shrugged it off.

Anyways, modesty was never a virtue he possessed.

* * *

_'Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about.'_

TheKittyRin


	3. The Third Act

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

Thanks to icepandacookies for BETA reading this! Revisions last made in 2014,

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**:: 3 ::**

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Sirius was livid when he began smelling something wrong. A smell that disgusted him; repulsed him. He slowly eyed Harry curiously. Oh Merlin, not _that_. He had hoped that somehow, he wouldn't have to have to do _that_. The one job he had feared the most.

Changing Harry's nappies.

"Harry, my boy… um, tell me you didn't…?" He let his voice trail off, feeling rather idiotic. He was an idiot after all for having accepted this baby-sitting business.

Harry turned his head sideways, trying to understand what Sirius was saying and implying.

"Geh?" He cooed, his green eyes looking curiously at him.

"Oh," Sirius sighed, pulling a face as he put Harry non-willingly in his arm, "Let's get that business started then…"

He wasn't very excited to begin.

Walking up the stairs, Harry began touching his face, feeling every part of his face. Sirius grew impatient when Harry began pinching his nose, giggling like a little girl.

"Harry, stop it!" He bitterly scolded, his brown eyes glancing annoyingly into Harry's, "It hurts."

Harry seemed to understand the word stop, and glanced again at Sirius with round eyes.

"Padwooo." He screamed, starting to wiggle everywhere and fighting the grasp of Sirius' arms.

"Harry, stop!" Sirius sighed, exasperated as he finally reached the door. Opening it, a small, square room was revealed. It was painted blue with small ornaments, such as small photographs of him with his parents. Sirius set him down and cracked a smile at the pictures.

A picture of Harry in his crib when he was but few days old; a picture of Lily and James holding hands; Lily with a large stomach, laughing; The Marauders with Harry when he was one; Lily, James, Sirius and Harry together, laughing at his baptism.

Sirius's heart suddenly went heavy, looking sadly at these nostalgic moments. Moments like these would never happen again, not till Voldemort was taken down.

A sudden urge to leave Harry alone and find Voldemort, to murder him began to take over Sirius, but he shook his head. He had to be reasonable. For Harry. Looking back at Harry who was upright and holding on to Sirius's legs to not fall. He grinned, few white teeth flashing. The man took him in his arms again, looking right into those green eyes.

"I hope that one day, I can help you. Help you more than now…" Sirius quietly said as Harry began caressing his face.

Settling Harry down on the table and taking off the infant's trousers, Sirius pulled a disgusted face. This was it. The moment he had been dreading the most.

"Gooo!" Harry said, as if he was encouraging Sirius. The last one blinked, and grimaced.

He slowly unfolded the nappy as he blocked his nose from breathing, to prevent any nauseating smell to reach him. But somehow an odour came in. Pulling a smug face, he quickly took off the dirty nappy and wrapped it around a lot of tissue. He then threw it away in Harry's little trash.

Clasping his hands together and sighing, "Finally! Yuck, Harry, you are a disgusting little pig! What do you even eat to get such foul stench? Oh well, never mind," he quickly said as he saw Harry just fix him with his curious, round eyes, "You know, if ever I had a dream of having children of my own, they have been sorely crushed by your little… smells."

Harry laughed, as if he understood Sirius. Two little front teeth were revealed and Sirius' heart melted at the sight of this.

But then, he shook his head. Nothing was worth this much pain and smell.

Sirius came back to Harry who was still lying on the baby table. He grabbed the pink box of baby wipes that was next to Harry and took one out. Wiping Harry's posterior, he pulled a face and quickly threw it away. Finally, Harry was clean.

Next came the baby powder, which wasn't something Sirius minded. In fact, he even found it fun to spread all over Harry's bottom. Which was odd because Sirius hadn't expected in liking anything when changing a baby.

Harry, too, seemed to like baby powder. He laughed as it went everywhere in the air. Sirius coughed, noticing that he had some white on his face due to this.

"-cough- I think I put a tad too much…" he mumbled, cleaning his face with his hands. He gazed at Harry who was staring back intently. And then, out of the blue, Harry's hand flew in the air and grabbed the pot of baby powder, throwing it at Sirius' face.

Sirius yelped at the sudden attack and tried to avoid the pot, but it came right into his face before he could say anything at all. He winced at the slight pain it caused him and opened his eyes wide. The room was white, pure white or at least most of it.

Sirius blinked and saw that Harry was half laughing and half chewing on his hands that were covered with powder.

"Harhar, hil-arious," Sirius faked a laugh as he rolled his eyes, "You have some humour, kid!" He picked up the pot of powder and set it on the table. He gazed at Harry who was now merely sucking on his hand full of powder, "Harry! Don't swallow that. It's _probably_ not good for you."

Sirius grabbed Harry's hand. The baby began crying at the sudden violence and Sirius' eyes widened.

"No, Harry… don't cry! Please." Sirius said with a pleading voice, making grimaces again to try to entertain Harry. But Harry, to his surprise, stopped crying and instead began laughing. Sirius exhaled, finally relaxed, "Come on. Let's put some clothes on, shall we? I don't think you want to be all-naked like that. It would kind of ruin your future reputation of play boy, eh?"

Even though Harry didn't understand what his godfather was saying, he liked Sirius' voice and so he just nodded vigorously, "Padwoo!"

"It's Padfoot. Foot." Sirius chuckled as he grabbed Harry's pyjama trousers and scrapped the white powder off.

"Padfffffwo." Harry concentrated all his actions on pronouncing the 'f'. Sirius laughed as he pulled Harry in his trousers.

"Good job. You're half way there, Harry. Padfoot."

"Paaaadfooo." Harry pushed on stubbornly. Sirius patted his godson on the head.

"Great Harry. Let's get you to sleep, I think… shall we?"

The moment Sirius said 'sleep'; Harry's eyes began soar as he began yelling with all his lungs. Sirius blinked, gasping as he raced to Harry, taking him in his arms.

Harry shook his head, battling Sirius' big arms as he began shouting loudly, yet he didn't seem to want to cry. He looked demanding and stubborn, but not one trace of sob was in his eyes. There was just determination that oddly reminded him of James'.

"Arry no! Slweep!" Harry cried, shaking his head furiously. Sirius soothed the boy by gently caressing his head and humming a tune. Harry, still grumbling, didn't seem to want to be soothed, but he calmed down momentarily.

"Alright Harry. If you don't want to sleep, then we won't make you sleep." Sirius affirmed, sighing as he got out of Harry's room. Harry relaxed in his arms, happy to leave his room where his dreaded crib was.

The cat was on top of the stairs, slightly surprised to see Sirius and Harry here. He hissed angrily, but let them pass. Sirius glared at the cat coldly, looking at him proudly and arrogantly. He was better than the cat, whether that blasted beast liked it or not.

He entered the living room, putting Harry on a carpet where a dozen of Muggle's toys were placed and Harry began playing with glee, showing every toy to his godfather.

He handed to him a plushie rabbit that said 'I love you' every time you pressed its back. Sirius chuckled, "Thank you Harry."

Harry's green emerald eyes looked at him and he giggled uncontrollably.

The man with black hair took out the crumbled piece of paper and took a pen that was laying on the table. It was Lily's list. He scribbled a quick check.

Change Harry's nappies. [ V ]

Putting it back into his pocket, Sirius' eyes travelled around the room, glancing at some past memories. He chuckled as he saw a picture of the four Marauders, tangled in a mutual hug and putting on a grin that reached the sky.

He continued scrutinising the red room, a red carpet in the middle. There were diverse ornaments that decorated the living room quite well and then there were those ugly, ancient artefacts that had probably belonged to the Potter's ancestors and that James merely kept out of respect, probably Lily urging him to do so.

Laughing, he couldn't help but notice that those artefacts were put in odd places, likely to fall and break. A pile of books that was laid on a table then captivated his attention. Opening, he smiled at the memories, bringing his mind out of this world and into the dreams and past scenes that reminded him of his friendship with James.

He wondered what kind of lives they would lead in ten years. There was no doubt in his mind that they would beat Voldemort and his underlings, but at what cost? A sudden pain grabbed his heart, feeling like he was being dragged down. He gulped nervously.

_What if he died?_

He glanced at Harry, and the terror continued to paralyse him. He couldn't die, not him. Death was for… other people. But people around him, they had to live. He had to live. Even when confronted with the realisation that every man dies, some chose to deny that they are just humans.

The truth was, he didn't want to die. Not just because he was scared of what came after, but because there was still so much to do here. For instant, see all his friends have families. See James and Lily grow old. See little Harry become a grown man.

He smiled softly, a little scared and sad inside.

After a while, Harry began growing bored of his games. The man who had been busy looking at some family's album, was surprised to hear his name being called by the infant.

"Padfoo, padfoo!" Harry called, putting his arms in the air demandingly.

Closing shut the book and snapping out of his dark thoughts, he took Harry in the arms and fell on the couch, his mind focused on the glass that protected the never-ending flame from burning Harry. He pulled a smug, remembering how expensive this fireplace had been.

"Padfoo?" Harry cooed, touching Sirius' nose. The man blinked and took Harry's hand, kissing it lightly. The little black machine that was few meters away from the fireplace, shining at the light, caught his attention. He gasped.

"TV!" He cried, feeling idiotic enough. Galvanised by the sudden idea, he remembered this odd, Muggle invention. The TV. What permitted people from watching…whatever it was. Cinema, cartoons, news. Everything was on this genius invention. Merlin, he found Muggles annoying, but this beauty…this invention, it had made him love them. He remembered when Lily and James had first shown him, few years ago. It had hypnotised him.

Harry laughed, his grin becoming wider and nodding in agreement, as if he understood what TV was.

"You want to watch TV?" He asked, muttering the word TV as it was still something unusual for him to say.

"Yesh. TV, TV!" Harry clapped, his mouth in awe.

"Alright!" Sirius agreed, setting Harry on the couch next to him and grabbing the remote control. His eyes widened, not really remembering how it worked. Scratching his head, he pressed the number 1, to see what it would do. Nothing happened.

He began pressing violently on every button he could find, slightly irritated. Finally, as he pressed the red button, a sound emitted from the TV. It was black for few seconds until an image began appearing, a man talking with something very strange in his hands. A micrognome if Sirius remembered right. _Or not._

"Pssh, news?" He pulled a smug face, disgusted by the idea of watching something that might be educational. Harry, who didn't really understand the term news, was mesmerised by the smug face that Sirius had just pulled, his innocent green eyes not leaving his face once. He then attempted to copy him, lifting his cheeks but it only resulted into a very singular grimace as his two front teeth bit his lower lip and his eyebrows frowned deeply. He seemed very focused, but Sirius couldn't restrain himself. He roared to laughter, finding hilarious Harry's face.

Harry blinked, a bit silent for a moment and Sirius wondered if his pride had been hurt. If babies had pride at all, that is. But then, he began laughing too, a high-pitched laugh echoing through the house.

Sirius patted Harry and laughed, looking back on the TV. He remembered that different numbers meant different channels.

He pressed on number one. A comedy was being played, but only after one minute of watching, Sirius couldn't help but feel repulsed. Muggles' jokes were very lame and so un-funny. He would have to tell that to Lily. What was wrong with them and chickens? Why couldn't they just leave chickens alone? They kept telling jokes like this:

Q: Why did the Roman chicken cross the road?

A: She was afraid someone would caesar.

How _very_ lame.

Changing channel, he arrived on two lovers violently snogging and making out. A bit like Wizard Porn, except a little less sexual. He watched with a lot of interest, as any man should, and decided that this was definitely a good channel. The girl kissed the man's neck, roughly ripping his shirt off and wrapped him with her arms.

There was a laugh that didn't come from the TV. Sirius blinked, looking back at Harry. Who was laughing and watching. _Damn_.

Yelping, surprisingly, he took the remote and pressed the number four, arriving on cartoons. He sighed; perplexed in knowing whether Harry would remember about this. He had to inform him not to.

He took Harry close in his arms and began talking, a husky and nervous tone to it, "Harry…what you just saw was a sex scene. You cannot, in any case, repeat this to your parents. Especially your mother because with all the bloody mess I put in her house, I think she will already skin me alive. So let's not push it."

"Sex?" Harry asked, wondering what it is was, "Padfoo?"

"No, no. Don't remember the word! Oh great…anyways, let's watch this…uh fascinating image."

The introduction began, a theme that was very inspiring and catchy. The screen showed a lot of blue gnomes with white hats, at the exceptions of one with a red hat. The title said it was called 'The Smurfs', and the story began.

Harry watched, very interested.

The story began, though Sirius wasn't very hypnotised by this kind of show. He preferred to ponder on the night, leaving Harry comfortably in his arms whilst he was in his thoughts.

He wondered whether they were having fun, that foolish couple. Luckily for them, he was there, making sure no one heard about it. He understood that after all this time of being closed up, the couple needed time alone, to be able to feel like one soul and two hearts bonding once again.

He thought of his mother, and how she had never given him proper love. Like a mother should.

His thirst for killing Voldemort was growing by the second; to see those red eyes close forever. He wanted to destroy every single Death Eater, especially Snivellus and his annoyingly greasy hair. He wanted to kill Bellatrix Lestrange, as to not hear her high pitch laugh ever again. Then, he wanted to go to his mother's house, and make her see how wrong she had been. To show her the atrocities that her Dark Lord had committed.

He was shocked at his attitude, generally not having such a violent and rash personality.

Thinking of his mother always gave him fury in his heart. He knew that he wasn't so cruel. To make his mother realise the faults in her world would mean that Regulus, his brother, had died in vain. That would perhaps be the cruelest act Sirius could ever commit, as there was nothing more that his mother loved than Regulus.

He breathed heavily, trying to let these emotions not get the better of him. Usually, when he was broody like this, it was Remus who managed to soothe him, and put his mind back on the right track.

He sighed, realising that an episode had gone by.

He blinked, yawning and feeling rather drowsy. He could feel his tired eyes screaming to sleep. He gazed at Harry and gasped. The little boy, who had previously such big eyes admiring Sirius, was now fast asleep. His chest rose and fell in a calm rhyme, his breathing heavy and even. His thumb in his little mouth, he looked absolutely adorable.

"Harry," he murmured smoothly, smiling to himself. He knew then that murder was not the option. To build a better world for Harry, justice had to be achieved, but senseless violence could never achieve this. That would make him just as bad as the Death Eaters. Yes, Voldemort had to be destroyed, but it wasn't an act of revenge that would accomplish this, but of honour and feeling the need to protect the people you love.

He didn't know when he had grown so wise, but he wasn't about to question it, "One day… I promise to be the best Godfather. I know I'm clumsy around Muggle furniture, and Merlin only knows how I'm not very capable with children but...well, I do care a lot about you. You're my Godson. If ever...something were to happen to any of you, or you just need shelter...I'll be there. You can come to me anytime and we'll talk...just like your father did to me. He was a great friend, you know. My best friend." Sirius didn't know why he was feeling so nostalgic and sad, perhaps it had been all the memories, "Anyways...I'm cursed, it seems, to not have children of my own. And Merlin, am I happy of that!" He smiled sadly, "The fact is...you're like a son to me, in a odd sense." He mumbled, finishing as his cheeks flustered. This little speech had been more confessions than Sirius had ever done in a lifetime. Why had he decided to waste it on an infant? On a sleeping infant?

Shifting calmly, he saw Harry's expression change but he didn't wake up. Thank Merlin. Sirius decided that he couldn't move much more and instead decided to sleep here on the couch, with his godson. His free hand reached for the remote, turning off the cartoons.

Trying to grab the deluminator that Dumbledore had lent him one week ago (That was to have been returned four days ago, but Sirius had completely forgotten), he groaned. It was in his back pocket of his jeans. Wincing as he stretched his back to not move Harry, he quickly grabbed the deluminator and sat back down. Taking a deep breath, he gazed around, making sure nothing was wrong.

He noticed the cat was sleeping soundly on the armchair next to the couch and he was about to yell at the cat to get away but restrained himself as he noticed that when that stupid cat wasn't awake and his ugly, evil eyes glaring at him, it was actually pretty cute. What was wrong with him? He was feeling too emotional.

Sighing, he used the deluminator, letting darkness engulf him. There was still the fireplace, but it tired his eyes to watch the crinkly fire burning.

He closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come get him.

He would be ready to take on everything.

* * *

_'When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.' ~ Joyce Brothers_

TheKittyRin


	4. The Final Act

**Disclaimer:** I, TheKittyRin, do not own Harry Potter in any ways. Sadly. Jk, if I did, the book would not be as good.

A special thanks to icepandacookies, who was patient with me and helped me. She's an awesome BETA! :) Last revisions were made in 2014.

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**:: 4 ::**

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_October 30th 1981, 00h46_

"Sirius Orion Black!" A loud cry hissed at him, much like a lion ready to pounce on its prey. Sirius' eyes snapped open, his vision of things dazzled and blurred. With a free hand, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. He nearly jumped, yelping like a dog as he saw Lily's cold face glaring at him millions of daggers, daggers that were about to kill him. _Bloody daggers._

Her jaw tightened at his shocked expression, and she put one of her hands in the air, exasperated. "I told you to look after my house and Harry...!" She snapped bitterly, "And _what_ did you do?"

Sirius gulped, looking down at Harry's sleeping figure. James stepped in the living room, panting slightly, "Now, now, Lily. Let's not overreact. I know that my prat of a friend caused a massive destruction in our house, but I propose that we don't wake up Harry. Here, Sirius, hand me my Harry." James let out his arms. Sirius sat right up, holding an adamant posture so he would look as serious as he possibly could. Harry, still sleeping soundly in his arms, drifted side.

Lily sighed, defeated, "Harry will wake up no matter what we do.. The moment you move him, he wakes up. I'm calmed down, I can take him." Her tone changed to a demanding one, her hands out and waiting for Sirius to hand the baby to her.

Sirius gazed at Harry's sleeping figure and sighed, "Lily...Let me take him upstairs for you. Please." The man was surprised to hear his voice so different, it was hoarse and deep. Blinking, he cleared his voice, "I mean, we can discuss the terms of my punishment after and… civilly."

"Civilly?" Lily snorted, smirking, "Are you serious?"

"Yes, yes I am." Sirius teased and the girl with red hair rolled her eyes, having forgotten that idiotic joke, "Alright, I get it. You're in no mood for my Sirius-puns. I propose, however, that I do put Harry in his crib."

"That would be too late." James muttered, slightly annoyed. Sirius gave him a surprised face, both on what he said and how he had said it. Shrugging, James pointed to Harry, "He's waking up."

Sirius, perplexed, immediately looked back on the infant's face and saw that, indeed, those green eyes were open. He cursed under his breath and gave a slightly dark look at Lily, "Good job, you woke him up."

If Harry hadn't been in his arms, Sirius was sure that Lily would have hexed him in the second he had uttered that phrase, "I'm sorry that we don't all have your terrible parental skills."

"My terrible parental skills!" Sirius repeated, fake crying, "I am the very best Godfather ever to have existed, thank you very much!"

"Of course you have," James laughed, "Look at Harry. He's really calm in your arms. He obviously trusts you."

"Yes, yes! See, even _Pumpkin pie James_ agrees with you!" Sirius laughed. The couple smiled at that. Sirius never changed. Although Lily argued quite often with him, she never stayed mad very long. There was no changing his nature, but she was surprised to see how much Harry had affected him.

Harry seemed to realise that all the commotion around him was centring around him, so he began to make lots of gurgling noise.

"Alright, here," He finally gave in, seeing that he should probably give Harry to his mother. Sirius sighed and he watched as Harry's eyes met his mothers and he mumbled, "Mama...mama."

Lily nuzzled her face in Harry's neck, grinning slightly as she protectively wrapped her arms around Harry as tight as possible, while making it comfortable enough for her little boy. Harry giggled when she breathed in and out in his neck, tickling his skin lightly.

Harry then looked up at Padfoot and smiled, showing his little, flashing white teeth, "Padfoot!" He bellowed loudly, hurling few screams as he twisted his neck to look fully at Sirius. Lily smiled softly as she moved Harry around so he could be positioned to look at Sirius, "Padfoot!" He repeated, as if determined to get an answer.

The man blinked, slightly gasping. This was a first for Harry, "Well done Harry! You got my name right." he grinned wickedly, quickly putting his hand in the boy's hair, caressing it wildly as the infant smiled happily, as if he understand.

"Congratulation Harry!" James muttered, his tone shocked and astounded, "You managed to pronounce the sound 'f' perfectly and finish his name with a 't'. Grandiose Harry Potter!"

"We're proud of you." Lily added, kissing Harry's back of the head as she inhaled the scent of her son which was imprinted in her mind forever.

"Arry love Padfoot." the baby repeated over and over again.

"See? I am the best Godfather ever to live!" Sirius couldn't help but say, grinning like a foolish idiot. Lily rolled her eyes, but laughed netherless.

"Well, alright. I'll give you that much. You are talented in that, at least." Lily began, not before being cut off by Sirius' demanding voice.

"Now, now...Lily. We all know that I am good at everything..." he said.

"Oh shut, dog. I'm complimenting you, there's no need to show off. Anyways, like I saying, although you are the most worthless house keeper I've ever seen, you are exceptional with children. Therefore, we'll know that in the future, we can count on you to guard Harry for babysitting or if anything happens to us." Lily explained.

Sirius couldn't help but feel a certain solitude as she said the phrase 'if anything happens to us', "Don't be silly. Nothing is going to happen to either of you. Not when you've got me, and Dumbledore on your side!" He pushed.

"And that's solid stuff, huh?" James rolled his eyes, "Lily, how about we let Sirius and his god-like, amazing skills with children let our Harry drift to sleep? In his crib, this time, please, Sirius." he teased. The two man roared with laughter.

"Alright, then. I'm off!" Sirius said with a high pitched voice, trying to imitate what Harry sounded like when he said those little words like 'Mamma' or 'Dada', "Goodnight Mummy. Goodnight Daddy." The man gently took the boy's hand and waved goodbye to their parents. The two grinned and laughed it off.

Heading upstairs, Sirius opened the door into the almost too white room, which he had forgotten to clean before.

"_Scourgify_." he murmured as he grabbed from his back pocket his wand which he flickered towards the white powder. At once, the powder gathered in a spot, creating a massive tornado like whirlwind, which vanished in merely a matter of seconds. Blinking, Harry looked marvelled at the wonders that magic could make.

"Should have done that earlier, idiot. Anyways, this, my boy," said his Godfather with a sheepish smile, "is what is known as _magic_. You'll see, you will be talented at it just like your father and mother were." he explained as he put Harry in his crib and caressed his face, "Now come on, we need to get you to sleep."

He got up and turned the light off, only to leave a small lantern next to Harry's bed functioning, knowing that babies always preferred having the re comforting warmth of a small light while they drifted to a peaceful sleep.

Harry was, however, not willing to fall asleep just like that, especially in this silence. The baby began to talk, and moan while he created a different variety of sounds. The man sighed, and he began caressing slowly Harry's forehead, following the shape of circles and spirals. Harry watched, his mouth shutting and his eyelids relaxing.

"You know, Harry," Sirius began with a deep, hoarse tone which he got rid off as soon as he cleared his voice, "You know...you mean a lot to me. I know that I may only be your Godfather and I am technically not blood related to you in any ways...but, I care a lot about you. No matter how your parents beg of me, I don't think I'll ever properly settle down and have a family of my own. I don't know if you understand me but...it's just too hard for me. I want to explore the world and see things in a different point of view. James used to be like me but...when he found Lily, it seems that love made him much less of a restless man than he used to be. But me, all my love interests...well, settling down has never crossed my mind. Simple as that. Besides, I don't think I'd find happiness trying to be someone I'm not." he continued.

Harry, meanwhile, was staring at him with glimmering, mesmerised eyes. Though he didn't understand entirely what the man was saying, he loved Sirius' voice.

"So...I know I may be exaggerating, but for now, you're like a son to me. I feel close to you, well, partly because you have the good looks of your father but...there's something I like about you. So, just like the Potters were to me, if ever you need a home, a shelter or just someone to talk to...I'll be there. I'll always be there Harry. Even in the darkest hours." he finished, as he noticed that Harry's eyelids were shutting close.

Sirius stayed by the infant's side for few minutes, humming and tracing forms on the boy's forehead as he patiently waited for Harry to drift to a perfect, soundless sleep. When he began to hear the comforting sound of a heavy, even breathing, Padfoot slowly got up and walked as silently as possible out of the room. Getting down, he felt his heart heavy. He had just confessed to the boy who would never remember more than he had ever confessed. He felt delighted to have done so, but sad at the idea of leaving now. He didn't want to leave, he wished more than ever to stay by the Potters' side.

James was in the kitchen, preparing some tea. He eyed Sirius as he entered and grinned, "You managed it, then?"

"Of course. They don't call me Godfather Sirius Black for anything." he replied, smiling amusingly.

"Good." James said, "By the way, I repaired that vase you broke. Luckily I know how to use a simple spell like '_Reparo_', eh?" He joked.

"Yeah, well, I had a cat that was going bokers and a starving baby. What did you expect me to do?" The man said, sighing as he brought his large fingers to his temples, slowly massaging them.

"That cat is called Owen, and if I were you, I wouldn't insult it around Lily, she's crazy about that fellow." James laughed.

"Whatever..." Sirius rolled his eyes, "You know, as my best mate, I'd expect a little more concern for me. But _no_, it's the cat which everyone cares about." he quietly noticed, and the two chuckled in delight at the sarcastic joke.

"Come on, don't be a drama queen, you know..." James began.

"Sirius." A voice echoed in their ears, almost chanting. He turned around and knew at once how much trouble he was in. It wasn't the pair of bras or the powder Lily was holding, no, it was her green eyes that seemed to glow with fury under the light, and her ever so sweet smile that seemed completely out of place.

His common instinct were yelling at him to run, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

"Lily, think of my family... they would be so sad if I died..." Sirius tried to explain, but he could not. His voice sounded awfully low and it quivered frenetically with every sound he uttered. He knew his argument made no sense, he loathed his family as much as they hated him.

"Oh, I'm not worried about your family, at the present. I wonder about your future generation, instead."

"You know what, I think it's time for me to go... oh my, yes it is!" Sirius gasped as he looked at his watch, smiling nervously back at the couple, "Well... I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality any longer..." He said all this very fast whilst he put on his shoes and his robes. James was roaring with laughter, while Lily crossed her arms over her chest.

"Right. Well Sirius, my friend, it was a pleasure to have you over this evening...we should do it more often." James continued, grinning.

"Yes, we should." Sirius sighed and the two men waited to see what Lily would do. She seemed to hesitate, but finally smiled. A true smile that radiated her face. Her tense position melted and she gave Sirius a warm hug.

"It's only because you helped us that I'm willing to forget about this… Next time, I won't be so merciful." Lily told him as she hugged him farewell, and she glanced at James. Smiling, she turned around and went back into the kitchen, so she could let the two best friends have their private moment. James roared with laughter, and Sirius could only look at the woman with bewilder.

"See, this is the reason why I'll never get married. Women and their quick-to-change-attitudes. I don't know how you manage." Sirius sighed, massaging his temples.

"Well... women are spontaneous beings. But if you took your time to look and analyse more carefully, you'd see that it makes it worth it." James said with a wise tone to it. If Sirius would have had water, he would have surely chocked.

"Stop right this instant, kind gentleman! Who are you and what have you done with my friend James?" Sirius said dramatically.

"Funny. Well...families change you. You should try Sirius. It might make you re-think your 'non-baby' attitude." James explained.

"You know, I'm fine with being the godfather. It's enough for me; I don't need anymore than that. Harry is special to me, you know. He's…unique and… yeah I'll admit something. I felt bitter towards the idea of him because I thought… he was the reason why I couldn't see you. I was selfish. But I understand now. He is a human being. And I'll take care of him," the man told his best friend with a grin on his face. James' eyes were soft, surprised that his friend was opening up like so. There was a moment, a brief moment where James felt overwhelmed and was about to say something of great importance to his life-long best friend when another voice echoed.

"Sirius, _why_ is my oven burned?" Lily yelled. James blinked and rolled his eyes to look at Sirius, sending him a 'you're-so-immature- look.

"Are you _serious_? Burned the oven?" James whispered as he opened the door.

"Yes, I am Sirius." he laughed as he put on his scarf, "Well, that would be my sound to go. Bye, bye James-pooh!" Sirius laughed as he quickly ran outside, waving farewell.

James shook his head, feeling rather happy to see that his friend was back to his old self. He regretted not saying what he had meant to say earlier, but he was certain that the next time they saw one and another, he would be able to tell him.

He laughed, waving goodbye and noticed the presence next to him.

"He really doesn't change, does he?" Lily was smiling a bit, gazing at Sirius' figure that was slowly fading from their sight.

"No, but there's a certain stability in his character, isn't there?" James wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, bringing her closer, "Besides, I think the fact that he is taking such an interest in Harry is already a surprise."

"Yes. I am glad, though, that he's Harry's godfather." She nuzzled her head in James' neck, inhaling his scent.

"Me too." James kissed her ear, and the couple soon retreated to the house, closing the door behind them.

Little did they know that this had been the last time they would ever see Sirius.

_~Fin~_

* * *

I'm sorry for the last line, I am, but I think that with every sweet moment comes the necessity of truth, and alas truths need to be told. I thank you for taking your time to read my story; your feedback is welcome and very much appreciated!

Well, dear reader, this is it! The time when we part ways. Still, I hope you enjoyed the story and that you will even, perhaps, carry it on with you! I want to thank every single of you who took your time to review, favorite and put this on alert! You guys are siriously quite splendid folks!

_~"The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them in here." Sirius Black_

TheKittyRin


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